Cloak us in Light
by Greening
Summary: Itachi Uchiha had planned everything: from the moment he left his younger brother behind to the day Sasuke would finally end his life. But when a mysterious third party enters the game, events take an interesting turn in a direction no one could ever have forseen.
1. Chapter 1

_Chapter One_

"_We are running out of time, Suou," he said, eyes steadily focussed on the scene displayed before them. Observing every tiny bit of movement it had become obvious that the fight was getting to an end, both opponents clearly drained of chakra. It was going to be over very, very soon, and the next few seconds would decide over victory and death._

_But they needed both of the brothers to live, and that was only going to be accomplished by interfering. Neither of them would be willing to give up before at least one of them was dead._

"_Let me watch a little while longer. It's only just gotten entertaining, don't you agree?" The girl next to him was of fragile appearance, her voice soft as she spoke, yet suggesting an almost threatening undertone. She smirked, aware of her delicate figure that stood so much in contrast with the hint of dark chakra that surrounded her almost like an unpleasant smell. She knew of the impression she had on people, and she enjoyed every single bit of it._

"_Besides," she added, "I need the boy cleansed of that curse mark. I can't afford Orochimaru interfering, especially when my work has almost reached its final stage."_

"_And you think Itachi will be able to take it from him?"_

"_I am certain of it. After all, he has the determination, doesn't he?" she mused, letting out what could be called a soft chuckle. "His will to protect his little brat brother is still so strong, despite the gap he has torn between them."_

_Her companion's expression remained unmoved at this, but his eyes gave away the tiniest hint of regret. A passing memory that darkened his crimson eyes for just a split-second, nothing more._

_There was a bright flash descending from the blackened sky, followed by deafening thunder as two jutsu collided. For a moment everything went white, releasing chakra in an explosion-like blast. Like dust it whirled over the ground and in the air, cutting out every bit of darkness and shade that tried to hide itself in holes and under rocks._

_The moment passed, however, revealing one figure barely standing, evidently exhausted, and another lying face-down on the ground. But victory had yet to come, for the battle was not entirely over. The older Uchiha, Itachi, although only barely alive, managed to get up, wavering and insecure in his steps, however shielded by his final trump card: Susanoo._

_For a moment nothing happened, both opponents eyeing each other, one with worry, the other with disbelief. Then the younger of the brothers shrieked in pain as white snakes emerged from his body, hissing in joy of finally being freed._

"_About time," muttered the girl, "it was already getting boring." She looked up to her companion, nodding in his direction. Although still focussed on the battle he saw her gesture; there was hardly anything his Sharingan could overlook._

"_Get ready."_

_::_

_Life can only find meaning if threatened by death. Take away shade and you'll never find light._

_::_

"How did it go?" asked the masked man as Zetsu emerged from inside the branch.

"As expected, Sasuke has won. They are both being taken to safety."

"And the seal?"

"Has been destroyed."

"I see," he said, his one eye lowering its gaze to meet the grey-haired man's down below. Sharingan flickered, burning brightly in the shade of his mask, revealing what Kakashi had feared. An Uchiha… But who? It couldn't be… could it? Who was this man?

"Where are they taking him?" shouted Naruto from behind, and Kakashi knew he was only barely supressing his raging anger and the desire to bring Sasuke back to the Leaf. Naruto's affection for the boy who had so easily betrayed his village was amazing and all the more proof his kind nature.

"To a safe place, boy, that's all there is to it," said the white half of the creature, and the black part added, "It is none of your concern where we brought them, or what we will be doing next."

Naruto ground his teeth, not willing to accept this as an answer. But his attention was soon distracted when the masked man spoke again, his voice sounding much different than it had before.

"I will take you on another time," he said, his words dripping of menace and disgust. He had directed them at no one in particular, maybe the group as a whole, but his eye kept staring into Kakashi's, and the shinobi couldn't shake off the feeling that, somewhere remotely in the past, he had met this man before.

Behind the mask his Sharingan flickered again before he suddenly vanished into thin air, leaving behind not even a trace of chakra. His companion, Zetsu, disappeared back into the branch he'd emerged from earlier. The group was left behind alone, confusion and alert floating in the air around them like mist above a lake.

"We should hurry. Maybe we can still catch up to them, or at least follow their tracks," said Kakashi and jumped up to the next tree top, hoping to find something that might lead their way. Looking around he spotted a single black cloud hanging low in the sky at a couple of miles distance. It was promising and better than anything he'd expected.

"Hinata," he said, addressing the black-haired girl. "Check in the direction of four o' clock!"

"Yes, sir!" The Hyuuga nodded determinedly, activating her Byakugan. For a moment she stood there silently, eyes focussed on whatever she was seeing there in the distance, hidden from everyone else's view.

"There's strong chakra over a wide scope, about six miles ahead," she let him know. "Also… for some reason the forest is burning… with black flames."

_Amaterasu_?

"That's it! Everybody, follow me!" They didn't lose any time arguing and followed him into the forest, eager to finally find Sasuke… or getting closer to bringing him back.

_::_

Upon waking, Itachi found himself lying on a thin futon that barely made the ground it was spread on more comfortable, let alone keep out the cold that crept lazily through the air. It was dark, too, but he wasn't sure whether that was due to the lack of a light source, or if his eyes had failed him now completely. He had no idea where he was, or how long he'd already been there, nor did he know the reason of him being here. There was only one thing he was certain of: this was not death. And that meant that something – or some_one_ – had prevented him from completing his plan. Being alive had definitely not been part of it, nor did it involve any interference from outside… and yet, something had gone wrong, or he wouldn't be lying here.

Keeping his calm, he tried to analyse his situation.

_What is the last thing you remember? I remember walking up to him, but I could hardly stand upright. I remember his face, his disbelief and panic as I came closer. I remember having smiled. I said something. And then… then…_

The memory slipped away the moment he tried to grasp it, leaving behind only the faint impression of a third presence. Somebody had been there, between sleeping and waking, watching from the shadows and waiting for the right moment to come out of hiding. A flash, a sudden movement, blurred somewhere in the corner of his eyes as his vision failed – that was all he could recall, his last memory before falling into what seemed an endless abyss of darkness and pleasant dreams, floating in comfortable warmth, unconcerned of what might be happening in the outside world.

But now he was awake, his mind working at high efficiency, and concern was something he could not escape. He had to know who it was that had interfered and what their motivation was, but most of all he needed to know if Sasuke was safe. Sasuke… the very reason Itachi had managed to live through the past years, all for the sake of his beloved little brother's well-being. How well that had turned out was yet to be revealed, since the events had taken an unforeseen turn in a direction that still hid from his sight.

Turning away from his thoughts he let chakra flow out, examining his surroundings carefully. He was somewhere underground or maybe inside a cave. Whatever it was, it was huge. He felt insects crawling on the floor and the walls, a swarm of bats resting somewhere far above him, a few mice darting from here to there. But most important, he felt another human being behind one or two walls, his chakra imprint more than familiar. Sasuke. Itachi felt relieved and worried at the same time. First, because he had found his brother, and latter because being here didn't precisely mean being _safe_.

He stood up, or at least tried to, but halfway up a terrible pain seized his chest, stinging his lungs and throat. He coughed, covering his mouth, and immediately felt warm blood tripping from his lips, running down his chin and fingers, almost tickling his skin. He sank to the ground again, no longer sure if he was even able to stand, let alone walk. He took two deep breaths to calm himself as he always had when he'd had an attack, closing his eyes and concentrating on his chakra flow. He let a few moments pass and waited until the pressure faded from his throat and chest, then he sat up again, with far more caution this time, into a cross-legged sitting position.

"Bothersome, isn't it?"

Itachi paused, holding his breath. The voice that had spoken was clearly female; it was high and had a nice ring to it, but the speaker sounded far too friendly and… _young_, almost child-like. But what caught his attention was not her presence, but rather her _not being here at all_. Apart from the few words she had spoken there was no sign of her existing in this room whatsoever, not the smallest hint of alien chakra. But Itachi was sure his mind hadn't played tricks on him; if there was one thing he could rely on it was his sharp, genius mind.

"You have an interesting ability," he said into empty space, not sure where her voice had actually come from.

"And you look pathetic." Her earthiness didn't come as a surprise, but it still made him smirk, although sarcastically. He was sure that he must be giving her a pitiful presentation of himself, and an entertaining one at that, since her tone had sounded slightly amused.

"I wasn't supposed to be alive at this point anymore. But perhaps you could give me an answer to why I still am nevertheless."

She made no response, seemingly weighing her options… or letting him in the dark just for fun. He wouldn't be surprised if she were.

"I could…" she finally said, stretching every word thoughtfully as though she were lost in consideration. "But I'd rather wait for the brat to wake up."

The brat… "You mean Sasuke," he said, but it wasn't a question. It was odd having his brother referred to as _brat_, but as little as he'd like to admit it, Itachi could make some sense of it. He had… _changed_ over the past years, transforming into a boy filled with hatred and vengeance, devouring the sweet little child he had once been. But then again, hadn't that been Itachi's doing? Hadn't he been aware of the consequences the moment he chose to fulfil his mission? Hadn't he been the one to break Sasuke into pieces the night he slaughtered his whole family? Even though he'd had everything planned through there had been little deviations here and there. He had made some minor mistakes along the way, that much he had to admit.

Sometimes he asked himself what could have been if he hadn't had to do _it_, imagining Sasuke to have developed in a completely different way, still within the protecting embraces of family. He knew he couldn't afford such thoughts, yet sometimes he still found himself wondering.

He heard almost silent footsteps scratching along the stony ground and felt a cool breeze as the girl approached. Velvety fingers brushed against his cheek and he felt her cold breath against his skin. Even though she stood directly before him he still couldn't make out any chakra. He kept silent, unmoving, waiting for her to take further action. In his condition it was better not to resist, not as long as he didn't know what he was actually up against. Nevertheless he felt his body tense up, aware of her unpleasant closeness.

"Say, Itachi…" she whispered, her voice having adopted a threatening undertone. "How much do you really care about your brother?"

_::_

It was still raining when they arrived there. Lightning flashed on occasion from the heavy clouds, thick droplets soaking their hair and clothes. The place was destroyed beyond recognition, as if there had been a severe earthquake followed by an even worse thunderstorm. The ground had been churned up, black flames leaking left and right, eating into the very earth they had been fired on.

"Hinata, can you sense Sasuke?" asked Naruto, hope refusing to leave his heart until Sasuke was back home safe and sound. They couldn't have taken him far yet, even with the masked man's mysterious jutsu. As far as he'd understood it there were more people involved than just him and the creepy plant guy, and surely they had used another means of transportation… nonetheless, they had to hurry.

But the Hyuuga girl shook her head, a sad expression on her face. "The only chakra I sense in this area is ours. I'm sorry, Naruto."

The boy looked around. Shino's insects were useless in the rain, and the same went for Kiba's nose. The water would wash away Sasuke's scent if they didn't hurry, and other than that they didn't have anyone else with tracking abilities. But perhaps…

"Hey, Akamaru, can you smell anything?"

The dog sniffed, searching the ground for anything that gave away Sasuke's scent. He wandered about for perhaps a minute or two, then he suddenly started growling.

"Akamaru says he found Sasuke's scent, but it's mixed with others… he says there are three other scents. One probably belongs to Itachi, and the other two must…" He paused as Akamaru suddenly started to whimper like a puppy.

"What is it, my boy?" He sounded alarmed. There was a moment of silent conversation between him and his dog, then Kiba's eyes widened in surprise.

"Are you sure?" The dog winced again. "Darn it." Kiba ground his teeth.

"Hey, Kiba, mind filling us in?" Naruto, who hadn't grasped the full meaning of Akamaru being literally scared to death, was getting impatient. The more time they wasted here, the further away Sasuke would get.

"Akamaru says there's something wrong with the third scent. It's like the air is constantly shifting and changing, or… no. I can't put it into words, but whoever it was is well aware of our presence."

"Can Akamaru track-"

"Naruto, stop!" Sai, who had been mostly silent since the beginning of the mission spoke up. "Don't you see how scared he is? Whatever it is that put him in such a stage, do you really think we could take it on alone?"

"Sai has got a point, Naruto," said Sakura. "We couldn't even defeat that masked man, and this person seems to be much more menacing."

"But we…" He clenched his fist, hot tears running down his cheeks, almost invisible in the rain. "We were so close… _so_ damn close!"

Sakura, who felt sorry for her friend, drew closer. She, too, wanted Sasuke to return so badly, but damn it! She knew when she had to give up. She placed her hand on Naruto's shoulder, unable to look him in the eyes.

"I'm sorry, Naruto."

He gave her no response, staring into empty space as if he hadn't heard her. After a while she stepped back to avoid awkwardness, but still kept a close eye on him. Sometimes – or actually more often in the past few days – she worried about him; whenever he felt unobserved he would wander off from the group, not much, but still enough for her to notice. He seemed more determined than normal, and also his mood had gone from easily entertained to rather serious. If only she hadn't made him make that promise…

"We have to keep going," he suddenly said, lifting his head. His eyes were filled with new determination, new spirit, and the little shadow that had been lingering over his expression had vanished. "I'm bringing Sasuke back no matter what!"

Kakashi sighed. "Naruto," he said, voice quiet but still with the demanding undertone of a squad leader. "The mission is over. We failed."

"But, Kakashi-sensei, we're never gonna get a chance like this ever again! We can't turn back now that we are so close!"

"Naruto, Kakashi is right. We failed our mission, we have to get back to the Leaf and report back to the Hokage," said Yamato.

"We are not entitled to actions that go beyond our mission. As a shinobi, you should know that, Naruto." Sai, as a member of ROOT, took the rules far too seriously for Naruto's taste, but the young ninja knew he was right this time, although he'd never want to admit it. If they followed Sasuke's scent now they not only risked to lose him, but their lives, too. It was too much of a gamble to keep going now that a third party had appeared, especially if the only intelligence they had on them was Akamaru's frightening response to their scent.

"We should get go-" Kakashi was interrupted by an ear-splitting noise, almost as severe as thunder but much, much closer. The ground started to tremble, then the trembling died down again after a short moment.

They all turned to the direction the sound had come from, eyes and ears wide open. Hinata activated her Byakugan.

"There's someone there!" she called, alarmed. "But…" she frowned. "I can't see any chakra."


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter Two_

He had such pretty eyes. It was a real pity to see them blinded and lifeless, but then again, he wouldn't catch her staring. And staring she was, wondering what in the world had made her sister so fond of him. He was handsome and on top of that a powerful shinobi, true, but at the same time she saw that he had long ago given up on himself. He looked rather troubled, deep lines under his eyes and an almost expressionless face that spoke of an unhappy past. Very long, very black hair framed his even, somewhat delicate features, contrasting his pale skin. Pain and disease had clearly claimed their prize, and yet he sat upright as if none of that mattered.

On second thought, Shizuru had always had a thing for those rare, bizarre individuals, and even though Suou had never really been able to comprehend her sibling's sometimes extraneous behaviour, she could admit that, maybe, there was some sense behind choosing him after all.

Well, it didn't matter much since he was in her possession now (although she'd let him leave, eventually), but she could as well use what little time she had and enjoy studying her sister's newest pawn. She'd repair him first – a little gift for Shizuru – then toy with him a little, if she felt like it. She needed him as a healthy and strong pawn, but a little fooling around wouldn't do much harm either. At any rate, Suou was eager to observe how he'd react to her newest game. It was a risky experiment, but considering her boredom definitely worth the gamble.

She approached him (despite his sitting position he was only slightly smaller than her), considering all the different ways in which she could bring her message across. Simply telling him was easy but far too plain in her opinion, and she wasn't in the mood to openly threaten him either. Tilting her head she thought of his milky skin and how it resembled Madara's (true enough, they were from the same clan), and suddenly felt like touching it. Not in an erotic way, she had shaken off that need centuries ago, but in a more examinational sort, as if she had to feel him first to know he was truly there. For someone who wasn't bound by affection and the like anymore it was sometimes hard to draw the line, however, and Suou had to restrain herself as to not cross that line. She placed her hand around his neck, drawing closer. She felt the warmth radiating from his body and how her rather cool skin drew it in like a sponge. His muscles tensed up slightly and his breathing quickened just enough so she was able to notice it as her lips brushed against his ear, whispering.

"Say, Itachi… How much do you really care about your brother?"

She curled her lips into a thin smile and gently drew back, finally uncovering her chakra. It did cause her joy to observe how people reacted to her presence, seeing their confused, sometimes even scared faces when they sensed her chakra flowing in unnatural whirls through her body, but this time was different. Itachi showed no sign of surprise – hell, she couldn't even make out a proper reaction. The only response he made could be called a half-hearted frown at best.

"You're no fun," she muttered.

When he stayed silent she folded her arms in annoyance. He was no fun _at all_. Suou hated to do all the talking, almost playing a one-sided game. It bored her to death.

Well, if he wasn't up to playing she'd have to come straight to the point, then.

"I have a bargain to propose," she announced, switching from playfully childish to deadly serious. Her voice had adopted a deeper tone, too, as well as her chakra, which wasn't swinging back and forth as wildly anymore but slowed and started flowing at a steady, yet fast pace.

"And what would that be," he said, eyes narrowing. All the mistrust she dared a person to possess was now visible in his expression. She saw him concentrating his chakra in his lungs, as if…

"I wouldn't do that," she advised. "Best case, I dodge it and we leave it at that. Worst case, " she paused there for a moment, letting her words take effect, "it gives you another-"

A hollow thud interrupted her mid-sentence as the ground under her feet suddenly started to quake, folding up and breaking apart. Rocks and small stones crumbled where she was standing and she lost hold of the ground. The floor had transformed from a solid surface into a sand-like, unstable substance, giving away beneath her weight. _Damn him_.

Somewhere in her peripheral vision she caught a glimpse of Itachi leaping to his feet so fast that he became a vague blur before her eyes, but she had another problem to worry about; her legs were gradually sinking into the sand, making it hard for her to move. Hissing, she concentrated chakra into her feet, jumped, and landed on the wall to her right. But she didn't have time to relax, as a giant, hot-burning ball of fire came flashing right at her. She dodged it, but her sleeve got caught in the heat, burning the skin of her left hand.

_Tch!_

He had created a shadow clone to fire the jutsu, so as not to risk coughing up blood again.

But, she reminded herself, he was _blind_. He could only sense her as long as she had her chakra revealed, how had she not thought about that earlier? True, he had caught her off guard but still… she was better than that. It amazed Suou how he had been capable of surprising her in such a manner, even able to cast a jutsu before she'd had the chance to prevent it.

This was about to get entertaining, she might as well enjoy herself a little.

She rapidly weaved a few hand signs and three clones popped up left, right and in front of her. It was a simple diversion, and normally it wouldn't take him more than a few seconds to figure out the real Suou, even in his condition, but it bought her enough time to cloak her chakra completely.

She and her clones scattered, leaving Itachi in a state of temporary confusion, while she hastily wove together threads of chakra that would keep her off radar. She did the same to her clones, then activated the visual jutsu in her right eye, preparing the Preta Path. The four Suous darted at Itachi, who managed to hit all of her clones. They vanished into white smoke as they were struck by shuriken (wherever he had gotten those from), but the real Suou dodged everything he threw at her with ease. Then again, he was relying on his sense of hearing alone, hence only able to guess her approximate location. She took that as an advantage, and despite knowing it was a dirty trick she grabbed a few stones from the ground and cast them left and right. It wouldn't fool him for more than a split-second. But it gave her time to reach him, get a hold of his shoulder and drain his chakra from him until he slumped back down.

"Very clever of you," she said as he sank to the floor, exhausted. She deactivated her visual jutsu again, closing the Preta Path. "But you've made quite a mess." Indeed, the room was a total chaos; piles of stones sticking out of the ground, shuriken pinned to the solid rock of ceiling and walls. She'd have to fix that later.

Still… it _had_ been entertaining to experience Itachi's power first hand. It had probably been less than a tenth of what he was actually capable of, but his abilities astonished her nevertheless.

"You gathered your chakra on purpose to trick me into thinking you would actually throw a fire ball, when in reality… it was nothing but a diversion, am I right? It prevented me from noticing the _other_ chakra flow… the one you were sending through the ground," she said. "But as I mentioned earlier, I have a bargain to propose, and you _will_ listen to what I have to say."

He said nothing, so she continued, her voice a little softer this time.

"Remember that your brother is here as well, and his well-being depends on the choice you make."

This caught his attention. "What is it that you want to propose?" he growled.

She smiled. Finally she had gotten to him.

"He awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan after hearing whatever you told him back there. But you of all people should know best that from exactly then on his sight has been moving towards darkness… don't you? That's why I offer both of you the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. Your eye-sight will be restored and Sasuke's will never fade, and on top of that I will heal you of your disease and guarantee the brat's safety as long as he stays here."

"And what's the catch?" he asked, eyes slightly narrowing, but other than that his expression remained calm.

Suou chuckled a little at his words, knowingly dragging out the moment. She so enjoyed this.

"Well…" she finally said, then paused again. "It's nothing compared to what I offer you and you brother. You see, I'm a person who enjoys a good game of chess, even more so with living pawns."

"All this is only for your personal amusement then," he concluded, disapproval and disgust lining his words.

"Not only mine," she corrected him, not able to help but grin. "This is a century-old game between my sister and me. It's only bad luck that you got caught up in the middle of this, Itachi."

"I see," he said as realization swept across his face. "You're Shizuru's mysterious sibling, then."

She giggled again. "You're a sharp one, aren't you? But I guess I've given you enough clues, considering how smart people deem you to be."

"You haven't told me yet," he reminded her.

"That's right. I just want to add a little drama to our game. An unknown variable, if you will. And," she said, lowering her voice, "I want Sasuke to be this variable."

"What if I refuse?"

"Hm. Well in that case, I can't guarantee the brat's safety… It might very well be that he suddenly dies of his injuries." She made no secret of it, this was an open threat.

"Then you're not giving me a choice at all."

"You can view it the way you want."

He sighed. "You might as well tell me what you want me to do already."

_::_

"Show yourself!" Kakashi shouted in the direction that Hinata was pointing. For a moment nothing happened, then he felt a tiny chakra network appearing to his far left as a figure emerged from behind a half-torn down wall. It was hard to make out details yet, but Kakashi was almost certain it had to be a woman. The person's silhouette was rather slender, curvier than what a man's would be, and on top of that he saw what might be a long braid flattering in the air as a breeze came up. The figure jumped from the wall and landed on the ground as gracefully as a cat, approaching the group. Kakashi – and Naruto and Sai as well, he observed – drew a kunai from their pockets.

The figure stopped. "It's okay!" called a female voice. "I'm not your enemy."

The three shinobi lowered their kunai but stayed attentive as the woman resumed her walk.

She came as close as only a few feet away from the group, remaining surprisingly calm, considering that they outnumbered her by eight full-fledged shinobi and a ninja hound. Either she was confident that she could deal with the nine of them – which Kakashi doubted – or trusted they wouldn't attack in the first place.

"Leaf shinobi," she greeted them, "what a coincidence meeting you here."

"Well, we could say the same about you," answered Kakashi, noticing that the headband she was wearing was blank. There wasn't a single line on it, not even a scratch, as if she didn't belong to any of the Hidden Villages at all.

"That's true, but you don't know me, and thus don't know what I'm looking for either," she said. "And I'm afraid that since it's none of your concern, I can't tell you."

Kakashi nodded. He had expected this – ninja never gave away their secrets recklessly, let alone to strangers. However, he was very interested in what she might have observed; he didn't know how long she'd been there, and because of her ability to perfectly conceal her chakra it was likely that whoever had taken Sasuke had not discovered her.

Naruto had obviously had the same thought, for he directed his next words directly at the newcomer. "Hey, lady!" he exclaimed. "Did you happen so see anybody else around here?"

Her eyes flinched a bit, then a shadow crossed her expression. Upon closer inspection, Kakashi noticed, she looked distressed and anxious, as if something had kept her from sleeping two nights straight. He had thought her older, but by looking closer he saw that she was still young, barely out of childhood. She must be around the same age as Sai, he decided. Although something seemed off… but he couldn't figure out what it was exactly.

The girl shook her head. "I've only just arrived – too late, as it seems. But whatever your intention, it wouldn't be wise to follow them any further."

"You seem to know full well who these people are," Yamato noticed, at the same time as Naruto said, "If you know who they are you must tell us where they went! They took my friend and I intend to bring him back, believe it!"

The girl narrowed her eyes, her gaze meeting Naruto's. It wasn't a hostile look but rather a thoughtful one, as though she were trying to remember something.

"You must be Naruto Uzumaki," she finally said.

"Huh?" made Naruto, while both Sakura and Kiba let out a surprised gasp. The girl chuckled at their reaction.

"I have been told that a shinobi from the Hidden Leaf is chasing after a certain Uchiha who deserted his village, trying to bring him back."

Naruto ignored the explanation. "Do you know where they brought them?" he tried again.

She hesitated, as if considering her next words.

"Yes," she finally said, "but I'm not going to tell you. It's too dangerous to go there without a proper plan, especially for a jinchuuriki. As you might know, that's exactly what they are after." An angry undertone had mixed itself into her voice, barely noticeable, but Kakashi heard it anyways. He wasn't surprised that someone who knew about Naruto still chasing after Sasuke would also know about him being the Ninetail's host (it was kind of an open secret now, anyways), but the others didn't take the news as relaxed. He heard Sakura gasp again, while both Naruto and Kiba made a noise that resembled a growl.

"I'm capable of protecting myself," Naruto protested angrily, "and even if something happened, I always have my friends to back me up! And who are you to give me orders anyway?"

"Oh, that's right," she said, suddenly remembering something. "I haven't introduced myself yet, have I? My name is Shizuru, I am a shinobi and… that's about all you need to know for now." She showed a smile that was about as real as a raincloud above desert during dry season.

"For now?" echoed Kakashi. "You talk as if we might actually get involved with you again."

"We might," she agreed. "You never know what's going to happen next, do you? Destiny has her own twisting paths, and she knows how to keep them secret."

Kakashi considered her words for a moment, searching for a hidden meaning or anything similar, but found none except for the obvious suggestion that they could very well meet again somewhere in the near future. _I'd rather not,_ he thought, _there's something fishy about her_.

Rule number one to being a ninja was to never trust any strange shinobi, no matter how nice they might appear, and the girl before him didn't look one bit trustworthy. Now that he thought about it, everything about her seemed fake; the attitude, the smile, even the hint of chakra she had uncovered of herself.

"Well then," he finally said, "why don't you tell us why exactly you think you can go after those Akatsuki all by yourself and still have better chances than the eight of us."

"Nine," corrected Kiba silently.

The girl showed little sign of surprise, much less than Kakashi had hoped for. Instead, she only said, "You're clever."

"I wasn't sure about it until you confirmed it for me."

"I see, then you tricked me," she murmured. "I guess I should congratulate you, this doesn't happen very often." Again, she showed them her fake smile. It was starting to get annoying, Kakashi decided. And on top of that, she seemed quite full of herself.

"So… since I guessed correctly, would you mind filling us in?" He honestly tried not to sound too unfriendly.

"Well… as a reward, I guess I could.

_Just who does she think she is_, Kakashi though, annoyed.

"I'm looking for that Uchiha, if you really want to know so desperately. But I don't need another Tailed Beast in Akatsuki's hands, so I'll be going _alone_." She stretched that last syllable, eyeing Naruto in particular.

"Wait, so you're looking for Sasuke as well?" the boy demanded, startled.

For a moment there, confusion hushed over her face.

"Actually, no. I'm chasing after his stupid brother."

Kakashi and Yamato exchanged glances. Nobody had ever referred to Itachi Uchiha as stupid, let alone in such a casual, _thrown-in_ kind of way. Not to mention why she would be looking for _him_ of all people. Yet another reason not to trust her.

"This actually raises more questions than it answers," he chuckled. "Besides, the person of Itachi Uchiha is a former Leaf shinobi, thus making your business with him very well our concern."

"That's true," she admitted. "But clarifying this would bring up even more questions, and I do not have the time to answer them… and I doubt it would be in Itachi's interest."

"You're on his side, then," concluded Shino, who had been rather silent up until now.

But the kunoichi shook her head, pointing at her head band. "See this? It means that I don't belong to any nation and take nobody's side."

"In other words," said Yamato, "you're a rogue ninja."

She shrugged. "If you want to call it that way."

Silence built up between her and the group, letting the drumming of the rain be the only noise that remained.

Eventually the female shinobi spoke up. "I'll take my leave now. Return to your village; I have the feeling that you will be needed there very soon."

With that she turned, jumped, and vanished into the rain.

"Hey, wait!" Naruto, stubborn as always. Yamato grabbed his arm before the boy managed to follow the girl.

"Our mission's over, Naruto. We'll head back to the Leaf."

_A/N: Sorry it took so long! I had a lot of school stuff to attend to, but with the holidays coming up I should be able to get a few more chapters done. Please reviwe, it gives me motivation and makes me write faster! :)_


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